After a long probate process I finally have my fathers mineral rights recorded in my name in McKenzie County. The deed has already been sent to Triangle Petroleum back on November 2014 and I have been waiting to hear from them regarding Leasing opportunities. Can Anyone give me some idea of what I can expect for a lease offer. The seven wells were all producing prior to my proof of ownership of these minerals if that has any bearing on this.
Township 149 N, Range 100 West Section 4 (which is a part of a 1280 acre spacing unit) with section 9
Hopefully I will be hearing something from the oil company soon and just want to be prepared especially in liu of the falling oil prices. Thank you for any feedback to can provide.
You may not be able to find the existing least. Some are filed with the State and some are not. It has been my experience that the oil companies are not willing to provide copies of the existing leases so I have been forced to take their word for it where I haven't found leases on the State website. I have been working on getting all my mother's holdings together and chasing down the oil companies involved. It's a long process. However, you should start receiving the royalties fairly soon. The oil companies have180 days in which to switch ownership once the new owner has been properly identified before they have to pay interest on the monies held by them.
Two thing I would suggest at this point: Check with the State of North Dakota now and every couple of months after that to make sure no funds have been turned over to them. Just google State of ND Unclaimed Property. Make sure you get to the State site, not one of the others. Search for yourself and your father. Second, quit expecting a lease offer. At least in my experience, it has been nearly 4 years with holdings all over ND and I have never been contacted by an oil company regarding leases. Also, remember that in ND you do NOT have to sign a distribution order (is that the term?) to receive your royalties. Make sure the oil company knows that you know this, if you receive one, and don't sign anything you don't understand.
The 7 producing wells is what I would be focused on at this point since there is most likely money being held by the gas company in a Suspense Account. Or they have turned it over to your state as unclaimed property. Also there has to be a lease already in place, unless it has expired and no extension was filed.
Actually, if the monies have been turned over to the State you have a lot better chance at getting them in a reasonable amount of time. The State is very easy to work with. They tell you exactly what you need to provide and how to get it. If the monies are held in suspense by the oil company, they can drag thing out for years, literally.